Knitting machine



D 15, 1931- N` A. BERNER 1,837,101

KNITTING MACHINE med March 12, 1951 .4 sneetspsneet 1 /NveA/Td Il ENQ/MwDec. 15, 1931'. N, A, BERNER 1,837,101

KNITTING MACHINE Filed. March 12, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l )162, Bernd/Nvcmvll D. l5, Nl A BERN'ER I KNITTING MACHINE Filed llarh 12, 1951 4Sheets-Sheet 3 'Dem 15', 1931;

N. A.' BERNER '1,837,101'

KNITTIHG UACHINE Filed Max-ch' 12, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .J--. QQ@ I QQya Patented Dee. 1s, 1931 y PA'rsNror-FICE i A t UMTED STATES Nine-ANTONDamn.. orres'romom ammi, .Assioma Iro Ax'rIEBoLAGET ran.`rmaeeoxra.var-oon mmm. or smoxnonm swrmmr, A conomrron or marine uominiAppiceann mea mais, 1931; serielle; 522,102, um ni sweden laren a2,1930. l

This invention relates to knitting machines` of that type, `which areprovided with a' carriage Areciprocating above needle-beds and by meansof locks or other controlling mem- 5 bers shifts the needles while'Yreciprocated. In machines ofthis type the stroke of the carriagegenerally is predetermined and besides the shiftin of 'the membersywhich effect the changing o the` yarnl and pattern, `the shifting ofthe locks, etc., is effected just atV the turning-points of the carriagedeter-V mined by the constantv length of its stroke. If such a machineoperates with a less breadth of the knitted article Vthan the one, forwhich the machine generally is intended, the length of the stroke,evidently, is unnecessarily great, resulting in a: lossjoftime, whichrenders the production not sofeconomical as de sired. 1j p Thisdisadvantage is removed through the present invention according towhichA the length ofthe stroke of the carriage maybe chan ed as desiredand adapted to the breath and the position oftheknittedarticle. Thechanging of yarn and pattern, Athe shifting of the locks, etc., iseffected automatically at the return points of the carriage determinedbythe lengthofthe stroke. The position of the return points, which maybe varied within comparatively great limits, is

determined by adjustable abutments provided Y in the path of thecarriage.

"Knitting machines according to the present invention comprise acarriage recipro-` cate-d above needle beds'adapted'by means ofactuating .members to shift. the needlesin the beds, a returnldevicecontrolling vthe receprocating movement ofthe carriage/1. which renturn-device is' provided betweenthe driving 4* devices of the knittingmachineand the carriage, 'adjustable abutments ,co-operating with thereturn-device, so that VtheV ope-ration of the latter is controlledautomatically by the position of the ,abutme`nts, and motion itransmitting members between the 'return-de-V vice and devices shitinthe members' ofthe machine acting during t e knitting operation such aslocks, yarn-changing means, pattern' devices and so on), so Vthat thesaid-acting members, `when necessary, are automatically?.

shifted through the influence of the shifting at or near end of thestroke arbitrarily chosen. V

The inventionalso com rises certain details, more closely describe `inthe following description inconnection with the descrip;

tion ofl a form of execution of the'inven- 1 tion shown in theaccompanying drawings. i

' Fig. `1 1s a sldevlew of the main members of. the machine. Fig; 2shows substantially the same membersrin'a plan view. Fig. 31s an endvlewof the machine; 4 1s a cross section on the line w-a of Figjjl. Fig. `5`shows a part of a Lpatf ternicard. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a carry-` Ying plate ofthe carriage. Fig."7 shows a part of the motion transmittingmeans for the actuating of the locks.` `FignSshows a detail of theattern mechanism belonging to the same. igs. `9.[10 and llshow detailsof the the motionltransmitti'ng mechanism acting.

upon the locks. Fig..12 shows diagra1n111at1-` The machine is driveninasuitable manner by a source of power, for instance an electric-,motor2, Fig. 2, connected to aswitchf Y box13,y bhwhich the velocity issuitably re- Y duced.V Y Yesaid switch-box also permits thechangingautomatically to different velocities according to the type ofknitting operation and the nature ofthe yarn used in the machine.' Themotion is transmitted from the switch-box to'anendlesschain 5pas'singround two sprocket wheels V4, one of which is fixed to an outgoing shaftof the switch-box. The chain 5`acts upon a return device 6, which lisadapted to reciprocate between two abutments 42, fixed in anadjustablemanner on f two guiderods 43 which areV parallel to thechainparts and uide the return device. Y The return device, w 'chpreferabl isprovided with rollers runningon the gulde rods 43, isconnected toV the V'carriage l Vby means of a crankMandalink 45, Figs.1, 2 and 4, which thnssis caused `to partakein'the recipdently, is.altered and besides the stroke of the carriage 1 may be located to anypart' of the guide rods, for instance to the one end of the machine orto the other or to the centre of the-machine'. This is ofaspeciallygreatimportance, ybecause the length of'v stroke of the carriage and the zonein which the movement takes place may be Wholly adapted 't'o theconditions `most suitable in each case.

For that reason'any idle'running:practically is excluded. I

' As the return device 6, While moved, strikes the one or the otherabutment 42, its coupling mechanism is caused to operate, so that thereturn-devicey is connected either tothe upper or'to'the lovver part ofthe chain 5l During thesaid coupling opera-tion also the crank 441sturned through a certain distance, for instance half a revolution,whereby the return-ing of the carriage at its endfpositions takes placein a soft manner, owing to the fact that the advancing vof the carriageis continued through a certain distance and is retarded, after thereturn device has struck the abutment. A Worm Wheel 107 is fixed to 'L'f Y vthe shaft of the crank 44 and engagesl a'vvorm Wheel 108, slidablybut not rotatablymounted on ther shaft 7, the said Worm lvvheel- 108being positively Vcarried with the return device duringY `itsreciprocatingV movement.

" Owing to this arrangement the shaft 7 isv rotated throughV a certain"`angle, for instancefhalf a revolntion,4 atleach time thel carriageturns, the said rotating movement being used for shifting the differentparts of i the machine operating during the knitting operation, whichthus are acted upon at each time the carriage turns, independent of theposition of the turning points. v

A sprocket Wheel v65'isV fixed to the shaft 7 and rotates by means of achain 8 a sprocket Wheel 11 fixed tothe shaft 9, Fig. 2 a`nd`4. Thediameters of the sprocket Wheels 11 and 65, preferably, are so adapted,that they sprocket Wheel 11 is rotated through a Whole revolution, asthey sprocket Wheel 65 is rotated through half a revolution. A secondsprocket Wheel 46 is `fixed ,tor shaft 9, F ig. 4, which by means of achain 12 rotates'a sprocket Wheel'13 fixed to the shaft'14.'l tPreferably, the lengths of the .diameters Y of thev sprocket wheels 46and 13 are equal, so.

that the said Wheels arev rotated at the same angular velocity. A numberof camdiscs 10 areiX'ed-toI` the shaft 9, the object of which is to feedforward the so-called pattern cards' 19,14`i'gs. 4 and 5. The saidfeeding is effected by one or 4more cranks 47, Which are swingablymounted on a shaft'48 and by rmeans ofav link system 49 are connectedWith onelor more cranks 50. The said cranks 50 are swingably mounted ona shaft 51, carrying a polygonal drum 52, over Which the pattern cards19 pass'. Crank 50 is provided With a pawl 109, engaging a ratchet Wheel.110 fixed to the shaft 51. Crank 47 is provided with a roller 72,-Which is forced against the disc 10 by a spring device (not shown)acting upon the link system. Through this arrangement, evidently,anintermittent forward movement is f imparted to thepattern'cardslQ ateach time the carriage turns, independently of the pos1t1on of theturning point.

A number of cam discs 15 are iXed to the shaft 14. Links 16 bear'againstthe said cam discs and are connected to the cranks 18 by links 53, Fig.4. The said cranks 13l are fixed to a shaft 59 and provided Withprojections 60, adapted to enter into holes 61, Fig. 5,'provided in the,cards 19, Aso that the links 16 alternatelyoccupy a vertical andaislanting position. If there is no hole for a projection, as the cards19 pass, the corresponding link 16 Wil cccnpy a slanting position asshown'l by dotted lines in F ig. 4. other hand a projection enters intoa hole in the cards, the corresponding link 16 will occupy averticalposition. E he links 16, which are guidedby cranksv54 and springs 105,are

adapted when occupying a vertical position, as

to co-operate with pins 20, Which are provided on cranks y66, fixed toshafts 55,

Fig. 4. Cranks 22, Fig. 3, also fixed to the shafts 55, are connected bylinks 2.3 with cranks 24fixed to shafts 25 which extend"longitudinallyof the carriage 1 and relatively to which the carriage is slidabie.' Arotating motion, evidently, is imparted'to theV shafts 25 under certaincircumstances, vvhich motion vis transmitted to the locks of thecarriage (centre cams, side cams, cardigan catches andso on). Throughthis arrangement the locks are shifted each time the carriage turnsindependent of the position ofthe turning points. In Figs. 7, 10 and 11ksome examples of the mechanisms are shown by which` the rotary motionof the shafts 25 vis, transmitted to the so-called centre cams. Cranks94 and 95 are slid- If on the gg:

ably but 4not rotatably mounted on the shafts 25 and positively guidedby the carriage 1. As the shafts 25 are rotated, the said cranks actupon the centre cams 92 and 93, F ig. 6, so that their position isshifted. The crank 96, Fig. 11, fixed to one of the shafts 25, shifts ina similar manner the cardigan catch 98 and, besides, is adapted to actupon the two centre cams 92 and 93 simultaneously. Figs. 6 and 7 shov.7an example of the mechanism transmitting the rotary motion of the shaft25 to the so-called side cams. f Toothed bevel-.Wheels 86 and 91 areslidably but not rotatably mounted on the shafts 25 and positivelyQguided ,by the carriage, so that they partake in VitsI reciprocatingmotion. The

said bevel-wheels Vdand 9,1 engage bevelf wheels and, fixed toy the,shafts S4-and 89, Fig, 6to which toothed,bevel-secters-8? and 88 arefixed. The' saidgsectorsengage racks, provided oir-the sidecams 82and-87.

As the shaftsQ are rotated,i the motioinfevi-` dently, istransmitted tothe I,sideacains 82 vund.

according to the same systenuas described above. The patern deviceproper Vmay `be of a known type for which-:reasonitis not described. YFor instance, it may be mentioned that the needlesjare acted upon byneedledividers' 81, Fig. 8, which arev swingably mounted on pins 80andbymeansiof links 111 are connected with cranks 112, provided on shats 27, to which rotary motion is imparted substantially in the samemannera'sv to the'l sha-135325.V .1f

One may proceed in' a substantially equal manner, if the machine` shouldoperate vat dif,- ferent velocities fordi'erent kinds 'off knitting orwith'dierent kinds. o yarns, which require a. greater or lessivelocity.:In such-a.r case the holes of cards,

type shown vin Fig. 5, lcontrol a system of 1 cranks .and links insubstantially `the same manner as describdabove.' The `movements thuseffected are nsedfor thechanging of the ratio of gearing.

The movement necessaryrfor thechanging of the yarn may bederived forinstance from the shaft 14, which for that purpose may be provided withcam discs (not shown in the drawings), which act upon a .linkand leverarm system 28, 29, 30 and 31. Fig. 3. The

intermittent motion of the saidl'liuk and lever arm system istransmitted in'any Y'suitablenianner to shafts 37, .Whicharerotatablyjournaled in supports 67, Figs. 1 and` 2, provided at the endsof thevmachine. Cranks 38,'Fik1s;

1 and 4, are slidably butnot rotatably-mounted on the shafts 37 and.positively the carriage` 1, so that they: poi-take in its reciprocating,motion. Y Vx 1 Thesaid cranksV 38 act as a kindof corr veyers. which, asthe shafts are rotated move the yarn-carrier slides 39 and 40, which'are movable on guide rods .69. ,Two yarnf carrier slides of thesaid'type are provided on each guide rod, one ortho` Vot-heryottheV samebeing caused to move bythe cranks '38,

dependent loir-the great-ness offthe'Ia-ngle through which they areturnedf,Coiisequelfxt-` ly the yarn-carrier slides partake the re-` ciprocating movement of thezcarri age accord ing to a Ycertain`predetelniined.order. Bent fied, However,

-. tion vwith the chain 5 to itslowersubstantially of'the.

guided by arms l"70.are fixed ttheyarn-carrierl slides,

above the needles? iny the needle beds 73.V Inthe, above descriptionAthe most impor-` tantlmovements of the machine' and examples of themeans for effecting the `same are specithcre `are also: orA may be othermovementsgvhich maybe derived according tosubStantiaIlythe sameprinciples, as stated above, foi-Which reason a moreparticnlarestatement of the same seems to be superfluous..

, The mode of operation of the machine may be substantially clear fromthe above specification. For the gaining of a bettersurveyabilityarecapitulation of the mode'of op-` eration is left below V First the;abutments 42 are adjusted into positions on the guide-rods 43determining thelength of stroke and the positions of theturnpointsdesired. Then the desired ratio oifj gearing is effected inthe switchv box 3 the motori?. being then started. The said motorrotates oneof the sprocket Wheels 4 and thus moves thechain 5, which'through suitable means carries with itself the return def. vicewhich, asVsoon asit arrives at the abutments 4:2,automatically changes theconnec- .from its upperV part part and' vice versa, sothat thereturn-device will run toand fro along ltheV amplitude determinedbythepositions of the obutments. The carriagel partakes in the motion ofthereturn-device, a soft change of the motion of the turn points being,however, effected owing to the described crank-V and flink-connection`44 45, between `the returnf device and the carriage described above. At

oa ch time the return-device turns,`the Worm.-V

wheels .107 Vand 108 transmit a,V certain rotary motion for instancehalf a revolution) to the shaft 7 which in it-s turn transmits motion tochain 8,.shaft 9, chan12and shaft 14,. .As

the shaft '9 has been rotated through one revolution, which takes placeeach time the re-V turn-device and the carriage turns, .the camdisc 10acts upon the crankand link-system- 47 49 and 50, so` that the drum 52is'rotated and the cards 19 are fed forward. If during the said feedingoperation nohole passes the projection 60 of the crank 18, the latterisheld` in the positionindicated the dotted lines in, Fig. 4.Consequently, also the link 16 is held in the position indicated b v thedotted lines and for that reason does-not (5o-oper-` ate with the pin 20ofthe crenk. For that reason the link 16V acted upon by thecam-disc1,5will onlynnove upwards'and downwards Without,turning-thc crank 66. iIf, onithe otherhaHd, the projection (3()v engages ahole` prrwided inthe card 19, the-crank- 18 as Well as fthe link i6` occupies the`verticalgposition indicated by the full lines,vin which casethe latterenga-ges the pin 20 of thecrank. As

`the cam-disc 15 moves the link 16 upwards,

the crank 66 and consequently also the shaft is rotated which results inthe crankand link-system 22, 23 and 24 being'l acted upon for rotatingthe shaft 25. Consetpuently the crank 18 constitutes a kind of fee ingmechanism whichcontrols the transmissionof motion. All shafts 25 arerotated in the same manner. The cranks 94 and 95, Figs. 7, 10 and 1l,which are slidably but not rotatably mountedon the shafts 25 and arevpositively guided by the carriage l during the said movement act uponthe centre cams 92V and 93, Fig. 6, so that their position is fixed. Thecrank 96, Figs. 7 and 9, fixed to one of the `shafts 25, adjust in asimilar 'manner the Ycardigan catch 98 and besides is adapted to actupon the centre cams 92 and 93 first mentioned simultaneously, Figs. 10and 1l. Also the side cams 82 and 87 are adjusted by the shaft 25. Owingto the factthat the bevelwheels 86 and 91 positively guided by thecarriage, rotate the toothed wheels 85 and 90, the shafts 84 and 89 andthe toothed sectors 83 and 88, which move the side cams 82 and 87through their engagement with' the same. f v

If the machine is provided witha pattern e device, it may be shifted insubstantially thesame manner through the provision of a setof'pattern-cards extending along the whole machine. lf thepattern-device is constituted by the needle-divider shown' in Fig. 8, itis shifted by the shafts 27 in the manner stated above. Y

The changing of yarn and velocity is effected in the stated manner andtherefore is not repeated here. l

' Also other 'operations may, as stated, be effected in a substantiallycorresponding manner and the number of operating members is varied inaccordance with the work to be made.k j Y In the above specificationonly one camdisc. one crank, one link and so on has been mentioned forthe sake of clearness, but, evidently, there is generally a series ofsuch members.

Finally, it may be mentioned, that all the vmotion transmitting membersmay be arranged and combined in many other manners, and the invention,evidently, is not limited to the form o f execution described above andshown in the drawings, which form of execution only serves to illustratethe principle of therinvention. The essential thing is, that the strokeof the carriage is variable with regard to its length as well as toitsposition and that the shifting of the members ofthe machine determinedby the different kntting operations is effected automatically,substantially at the same time as the carriage returns and independentlyof the length of the stroke and the positionv of the same.

I claim:

' f1. Knitting machine comprising a ca rriage, means for reciprocatingsaid carriage aboveneedle beds, actuating members in said carriageadapted to shift the needles, a return-device adapted to controlthereciproeating movement of the carriage and provided between thedriving devices of the machine and the carriage adjustable stopscooperating with thereturn-device, so that the operation of saidreturn-device is automatically controlled by the positions of saidstops, and motion transmitting members provided between thereturn-device, and said actuating members operating during the knittingoperation (such as locks, yarn changingdevices, pattern devices and soon) so that the said members, when necessary, are shifted automaticallyby the return-device at or near the chosen end points of the variablestroke.

'2. Knitting machine comprising a carriage, meansy for reciprocatingsaid carriage above Vneedle-beds, actuating members in said carriage'adapted to shift the needles in the beds, arreturn-device adapted tocontrol the reciprocating movement of the carriage and provided betweenthe driving devices of the machine and the carriage, adjustable stopsco-operating with the return-device, so that the operation of saidreturn-device is automatically controlled by the positions of the saidstops, an endless driving member which belongs to the driving devices ofthe machine', coupling'members provided on said return device forconnecting the latter with the one or theother of the parts of saidendless driving member running in opposite directions as thereturn-device is acted upon by the adjustable stops, andv motiontransmitting members provided between the returndevice and saidactuating members operating during the knitting operation (such aslocks, yarn changing devices, pattern devices and so on), so thatthesaid members, when necessary, are shifted automatically by the returndevice at or near the chosen end points of the variable stroke.

3. Knitting machine as claimed in claim l, characterized by motiontransmitting members provided, between the return-device and thecarriage, said motion transmitting members being adapted to beautomatically shifted, as the return-device is acted upon by theadjustable stops and thereby effect a'relative movement between thereturn-device and the carriage, in order that the returning of thelatter may take place in a soft manner.

4. A form of execution of knitting machines as claimed in claim l,characterized by the fact thatthe motion transmitting members betweenthe return-device and the actuating members are arranged to impart in apredetermined manner a. rotary mot-ion to a number lof rotatable shafts,which extend through the carriage, slidable relatively to the shafts,actuating members positively guided by the carriage being slidably butnot rotatably mounted on the shafts and adapted t to shift the locks,lyarn changing device, pattern device and so on.` n

5. Knittin :machine as claimed in claim 1, characterize by the fact thatall actuating members or a part of the same consists of cranks. Y A

6. Knitting machine as Claimed in claim l,

characterized by the fact that the motion transmitting members betweenthe return device and the actuating members are controlled by feelingmechanisms, adapted to co-operate with control cards or the like.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature. l Y

NILS ANTON BERNER.

